all the little things
by Haryn-kid
Summary: A oneshot in which little Rin is head over heels in love with a certain blue-eyed, dark-haired boy.


_(A/N: Hi everyone, a random kid fluff-ish sort of thing before my heart is ripped out after the last episode… which is soon. Written in short little segments, not much of a plot here, just wanted to get this idea out before I lose my mind. I think I spent more time trying to come up with a title than I did actually writing the story.)_

* * *

"Rin, Rin, it's your turn," Nagisa says, and his expectant face is turned towards him. It is a Sunday and they are sitting in a room in Makoto's house. "Truth or dare?"

"I'll choose - "

"Who do you like?" Nagisa interrupts, leaning forward eagerly.

"I didn't even pick which one - "

"Who do you like?"

Rin stares into a pair of overly large, overly round eyes.

Makoto smiles helplessly. "So, who is it?" he joins in, also shuffling closer. Only Nanase remains where he is seated, hands folded neatly on his lap. His face is turned away in disinterest.

Rin's gaze is drawn to him.

Nanase looks back at him. A wrinkle forms between his eyebrows when their eyes met, as if to say _what the hell do you want?_ They remain like that for only a second, but it feels much longer to Rin.

"Well?"

Very slowly, Nanase gets up and leaves.

"I'm not telling you," Rin says. "But I really… like that someone a lot."

For a good five minutes, Nagisa complains that it's not a proper answer, but Rin doesn't say any more.

They all go home in the afternoon. Nanase refuses to look at Rin when he says his goodbyes and see yous before jogging away.

* * *

"Haru, hey! Wait for me!" It sends a little thrill down his spine every time he calls Haru by his first name.

Haru walks faster.

Rin has to run to catch up, and when he does, he throws an arm around Haru's shoulders, best-buddy style. Haru slouches a little under his weight and shoots him an irritated glance, but he doesn't push him away. "Let's walk home together."

"Go away."

Rin isn't discouraged. "I have a better idea - let's run."

"You can run if you want."

Rin stays.

"Where's Makoto, anyway?" Seeing Haru alone earlier made Rin realize that he hadn't seen Makoto at school today.

"Home sick." Haru sounds as if he doesn't want to answer.

"Oh," Rin says. He gives Haru's shoulder a light squeeze, and his mouth twists into a tilted grin at the look Haru gives him in response. _Blue eyes are the prettiest_, Rin thinks admiringly. "Looks like I have you all to myself today, then!"

Haru looks away without saying a word. Rin laughs and holds him close, his heart fluttering in his chest.

* * *

When they get there, Haru won't let him inside the house.

"What?" Rin says indignantly, hands on his hips. "Why? I've never been in there before."

"Go home."

"But I want to see!"

"Go home," Haru repeats, and turns away. Rin refuses to be dismissed so easily, and grabs onto Haru's sleeve before he can disappear inside. Haru is forced to stop.

"Why can't I?"

They are both silent for a few moments. Rin doesn't care about the house, not really, but something about parting with Haru now makes him feel strangely reluctant to go. Rin might be persistent, but he realizes that sometimes even that is no match for Haru's stubbornness.

Rin expects instant rejection and maybe some door-slamming and braces himself to meet it. But Haru just pries Rin's fingers off, sighs, and says, "You're a pain, you know."

He leaves the door open behind him after he goes in. Rin has some difficulty suppressing a triumphant grin as he bounds in after Haru.

* * *

What was originally supposed to be _just_ a walk home together turned into _just _a quick visit which somehow became _just_ a sleepover. Rin praises himself for his excellent persuading skills.

"Your grandmother's really nice, you know," he mumbles past the mouthful of foam, baring toothpaste-covered teeth at the mirror. She'd even made cookies for him to bring home and share with his family the next day. What's more, she had no problem with him staying over for a night and even called his mother for him.

Haru only spits into the sink and wipes his mouth on his sleeve. Rin follows suit a second later, splashing water everywhere.

"Don't make a mess."

"Sorry." Rin grabs the nearest towel and rubs it across his face and neck.

"That's my towel," Haru mutters.

Rin looks at the fluffy white fabric, clutched tightly in his hands. "Oh." He catches a glimpse of blue eyes widening before his nose is buried in the towel, hiding the smile that surfaces. "No wonder it smells like you."

Haru makes no attempt to stop him. "You're an idiot," he sighs.

"And you smell nice." _Nice one, Rin_, he thinks, stealing a quick glance to gauge Haru's reaction to that.

Haru's stony expression doesn't change. "Put it back when you're done." His toothbrush hits the bottom of a container on the shelf with a _clink_ and his footsteps are silent as they cross the damp floor.

Rin holds it against his nose for just a little longer.

* * *

Sometime in the middle of the night, Rin wakes up.

"Haru, I'm thirsty," he whispers hoarsely into the darkness, his fingers crawling around the edges of the futon. He'd dragged it out after Haru refused to let him sleep in the bed, preferring that over the cold hard floor. Rin had contemplated sneaking in beside Haru after he fell asleep, but he didn't want to anger him by kicking in his sleep or something.

He pulls himself up and stumbles in the general direction of the bed. His knee hits a corner and he very nearly says something that would have earned him a harsh scolding from his mother, but luckily for him she isn't around to hear.

Haru doesn't even stir.

Rin shuffles around until he's at the head of the bed, and leans over. "Haru?"

"Get it yourself," comes the quiet reply, slurred with sleepiness. Rin's chest aches a little at the softness of his voice. An urge to reach over and tousle Haru's hair overwhelms him, and his hands clench into fists at his side.

He wonders what Haru's sleeping face looks like, but feels that this gentle, warm atmosphere that had settled around them would dissipate with the darkness if he turns on the light.

"Yeah," he says, and he slips away.

* * *

"Hey, Gou."

His sister looks up. "Yeah?"

"What kind of present are you supposed to give for Valentine's?" Rin has been wanting to ask for some time, but feels strangely unwilling every time he tries. Now that Valentine's Day is just around the corner, he knows he can't wait any longer.

Gou doesn't reply immediately. "Well…" she begins slowly, face scrunched up in thought.

"Well what?" Rin says, impatient. They are cutting hearts out of pink and red construction paper; Gou's homework for that day is to make a card for at least one person in her class, and as a good big brother should, Rin agreed to help her out.

"... Chocolate."

"Why chocolate?"

"Just _because._"

"You don't actually know, do you? I thought girls were supposed to know all about stuff like this."

"I do too," Gou insists. "The girls give the boys they like choco - hey, wait."

Rin quickly grows uncomfortable under the intensity of her stare, thinking that it looks all too knowing for his liking. "What?"

"Why are you asking? Only girls give things on Valentine's Day. Boys do that on White Day." She squints at him.

"Don't - don't look at me like that," Rin tries not to stammer but does, a little, "I was just wondering, that's all."

It is silent save for the snipping of scissors and the soft rustle as bits of cut paper join the pile by their sides.

Then Rin clears his throat and speaks again. "Can boys give stuff on Valentine's Day, though?"

Gou sets her scissors aside and reaches for a gluestick. "I guess." Nonchalantly, she adds, "Are you going to make them yourself?"

Rin's scissors slip and make a ragged slit along the inside of one carefully drawn heart. _We already have plenty, anyway_, he thinks, staring hard down at the bits of paper in his lap, and busies himself with straightening his pile of hearts.

Gou doesn't question him any further, but he sees her sneaking curious looks at him from time to time. He pretends not to notice.

* * *

_Roses are red,_

_Your eyes are blue._

"Damn it."

_Roses are red,_

_Water is blue._

Pencil scratches angrily across paper.

_I like the way you swim._

Rin crumples up the paper, chucks it aside, and puts his face down on the table in despair.

* * *

"Haru," Rin says to his reflection in the mirror. His face burns, until his entire head is one huge blob of red, and he hasn't even said the most important thing yet. He rocks on his heels for some time, hands stuffed in his pockets.

Eventually he stomps away, mumbling under his breath. "It's stupid to practice, anyway… I want my first confession to be heard by the actual person, not the mirror…"

Next time, Rin vows. Next time he sees Haru, he'll tell him.

Tomorrow is February the fourteenth.

* * *

Rin all but throws the bag of chocolates - bought at the candy store, with his own pocket money - at Haru. Startled, Haru only just manages to snatch it with both hands before it tumbles to the ground.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Rin says breathlessly, trying hard to keep his voice from shaking with nervousness and excitement. How would Haru receive the present? Would he finally smile at him and give him a hug in thanks? Or maybe even - Rin allows himself to hope - a kiss on a cheek? How? How? What is he thinking now?

Haru looks at the gift for five seconds straight (Rin counts anxiously, awaiting some kind,_ any_ kind of reaction), without blinking and without saying a word.

Eventually, he sighs.

Rin's heart plummets.

"Thanks, I guess."

Rin's hands are shaking slightly. "What do you mean, _'I guess'_?" he demands, closing the gap between them, until they are nose to nose. The paper bag is crushed between them and Haru blinks a few times.

"Don't stand so close." Haru begins to move backward, but Rin won't let him. Before he can take so much as a step away, Rin grabs Haru's collar.

"Haru," Rin says, and suddenly he is standing in front of a mirror again, the boy inside staring back at him, scared, nervous, confused all at once. He sees him flush bright pink and he is painfully conscious of how he must look to Haru now. It doesn't help boost his confidence.

"Listen, I…"

Haru's wide gaze is unwavering.

"I, um…"

Is it _I like you _or _I love you_? Even _I admire you_? Which one? Which one? He doesn't want to mess it up the first time but his breathing's all wrong, his heart is ricocheting all over the place, and he can't seem to look at Haru in the eyes for too long.

He's terrified, and he doesn't know why.

"Let go of me."

Haru doesn't speak loudly, but Rin flinches. He lets the collar fall back into place, where it settles against Haru's neck. Rin receives a look he can't quite decipher the meaning behind, but an ache settles in his chest at the narrowed eyes and straight line of a mouth.

_Don't look at me like that,_ he wants to say, and a second later, Haru willingly obliges the unspoken plea. He doesn't look at Rin at all.

"Oi," Rin says.

Haru ignores him and turns away.

"_Oi_," Rin says again, louder this time.

Haru pauses, his back still facing Rin.

Rin swallows nervously, and the words come out in a nearly incomprehensible rush.

"I like you a lot."

Haru's shoulders hunch a little.

"And - and if you don't want it, just throw it away," Rin adds shakily, indicating the now crumpled paper bag that Haru holds in his arms. "I don't care."

He cares so much that the thought of Haru putting that bag anywhere near a garbage can makes him physically hurt.

Then, he hears a little snort, so faint that he can't be sure if he hadn't imagined it after all. But he knows he's not imagining things when Haru mutters, "I hope you mean in a platonic way."

Haru's back disappears around the corner, footsteps fading away quickly - more hurried than necessary, Rin thinks.

Rin looks up the definition of _platonic_ that night, and he concludes that there really isn't any crueler way to reject someone.

* * *

Water is streaming down Rin's face and hair, plastering the darkened red locks to his head. His drenched clothes cling to him, making his body look pitifully small. It had only been raining for a few minutes but Rin couldn't have been any wetter if he'd been swimming in a pool.

He supposes that's his own fault for lingering around his father's grave earlier.

From the corner of his eyes, he sees a pair of boots approach. He looks up, a hand held over his forehead to shield his eyes from the rain.

Haru looks back down at him, dark hair slipping forward from the sides of his face. His knees bend a little, as if about to crouch, but straightens almost immediately afterward. He only watches at a comfortable distance, not too close but within reach.

Rin can't bring himself to admire the way Haru's hair hangs around his eyes today.

"Rin."

Rin's eyes feel hot and his throat clenches. He sniffs back the mucus threatening to drip out of his nose, blinking hard at the rippling layer of water on the ground.

Haru doesn't make fun of him for crying. He reaches over, takes Rin's hand, and gives it a gentle tug.

They walk side by side in silence, shielded from the splattering rain by the umbrella Haru holds up. Rin doesn't let go of Haru's hand, and - although he does stiffen a little at the contact - Haru lets Rin press close to his side, despite his wet clothes. Where they are going, Rin doesn't know and doesn't ask, but he hopes Haru will stay when they get there.

* * *

Loving Haru is a pain in the neck.

Rin doesn't mind.

"Haru!"

Haru doesn't even look up.

"Hey," Rin says, puffing a little. He had ran all the way when he'd caught a glimpse of familiar dark hair and the blue vest from one end of the street.

"Hi." As always, Haru gives the bare minimum of a reply.

"Are you going home yet?"

"No."

Rin watches him for a moment, then joins him on the bench.

"What are you sitting here for?" he asks after yet another moment of silence, resisting the urge to fidget.

At first, Rin thinks that Haru won't answer this time. Then he tilts his head downward a little in a quiet sigh and, with a glance back up, says, "I wanted to watch the cherry blossoms fall."

Rin is suddenly tempted to scoot closer to Haru and slide his arms around him. He finds his voice several seconds later. "You're a real romantic, Haru."

Sneaking not-so-discreet glances at Haru, Rin detects the barest trace of a smirk on his face. "Says you."

Loving Haru is like racing. The thrill, the _thud thud thud _of his heart, the need to push forward and reach his goal, the sweetness of victory just up ahead - it is all there.

_You'll have to be faster than that,_ Rin imagines Haru saying, eyes turned away as usual.

_I will, _he promises, _just you wait. I'll reach you. I'll be swimming so fast that I'll go right past you and you'll have no idea what just happened. You'll see me up ahead, and then it'll be your turn to try to catch up with _me.

Beside him, Haru traces circles on the bench with his finger. His eyes are trained on the cherry blossoms drifting in the wind.

_But, you know, when that time comes, you won't have to worry about catching up at all._

"Tomorrow," Rin says suddenly.

Haru blinks at him.

He smiles broadly.

"I'll wait for you."

Haru looks away, and Rin likes to think that it's because he's trying to hide a blush blooming on his cheeks.

Loving Haru is the best feeling in the world.

* * *

(..._and then they grow up and have sex everyday and live happily ever after the end sorry I'm going to go cry rivers now because almost last episode someone help me_)


End file.
